If last summer’s national outcry against police brutality and systemic racism had a local face, it was Pulley’s. As lead organizer of the Chicago chapter of Black Lives Matter and co-executive director of the Chicago Torture Justice Center, she embodied the moment, showing up at demonstrations, condemning in the press Mayor Lightfoot’s reliance on federal law enforcement, and speaking out against the city’s curfew, which she considered a pretext for mass arrests. More than that, Pulley knows how to couch her opposition in issues that transcend any single protest — school closures, police militarization, lack of affordable housing — meaning she’s likely to stick around as long as those problems do.